Chapter 2: Guild Headquarters and Ais' decisions
A./N.: 2nd chapter: mostly a set-up chapter with lots of dialogue, exposition, and internal monologues but I will add in as much modified lore and info from the Monster Hunter World wiki as I can that fits both stories.
A./N. 2: italic words are meant to be for emphasis, or words and phrases that don't really exist in whatever the common language is that everyone in Monster Hunter or the Danmachi world speaks, but since I only know English, with only a tiny bit of Spanish and anime-style Japanese, it is all written in English. Italic is also used for conscious thoughts of characters and memories.
Ch 2:
After nearly another 20 minutes of walking, with pauses to greet people taking up most of that time, the three finally entered the main building of Asteria and headed strait to the office of the Commander. There Eleanor gave a half-mocking salute and said.
"Eleanor and Elaine, reporting an irregularity in our Great Jagras hunt, though it was successful."
"Really, does it have something to do with the small person hiding behind you?" the Commander asked sarcastically.
"Yes, this child was being chased by the great Jagras we were hunting, though it had fed recently enough that it was not trying really hard. According to her, some mysterious magic moved her far from her home to a clearing not far from one of the main rivers, and she was trying to follow the river but had tripped and fell when the great Jagras took notice of her and started chasing her. She screamed and ran, and I intervened and killed the great Jagras" Eleanor responded simply.
The Commander sighed tiredly, then said with a resigned note in his voice as if he did not expect good news "And just where is the child's home?"
"That's where it gets even weirder, she claims to be from an Elven community in the Ryumilua forest that was attacked by in her words, 'a giant black dragon" which sounds suspiciously like the Elder Dragon said to be in hibernation in the heart of the forest and that burned most of it down, before even the time of the 1st fleets arrival. But last I heard there was not enough elves who dared live in that dangerous place to make it safe enough for a child to live and be healthy like she obviously is" Eleanor replied again with an amused look, knowing how ridiculous her words sounded.
The Commander abruptly stood, walked over to Ais, then crouched down in front of her and said "Well, is what Eleanor is saying really what you think happened, child?" Ais swallowed nervously and took a step back since he felt too close. Ais then said, as clearly as she could manage,
"Yes, though I only actually saw Papa and one other elf, the others did not visit us because Momma was not an elf, but I played in the area around our tree house all the time, and Papa said it was only safe to do that because he and the others patrolled and either killed or drove away all the dangerous monsters. Also, although the giant black dragon monster started a fire after it attacked, before that I never saw burned down trees and only smelled smoke from distant fires after a thunderstorm where lightning had hit near us."
Ais hesitated then, but she had been thinking while walking, pondering Eleanor's claim that most of the forest was burned down and a long time ago at that, and said
"I think maybe the magic that transported me away from the black dragon as it was snatching Momma up and I was falling made me sleep for a long time, or transported me to a different time as well as place, that might explain things in some way. Since I did see part of the forest on fire before the magic took me away, and if the dragon then went on to keep attacking the other elves would not have been able to put out the fire the black dragon breathed out of its mouth. This makes sense to me at least, though I never heard that my Momma had magic that powerful and fast, she was. . . a great wind mage even if she was not an elf but her magic usually was either fast and minor or took a long time to cast, and it all directly related to wind. I'm not sure anymore that it was just a desperate magic spell she cast to save me, there might have been someone else or some powerful object involved."
The Commander stared at Ais for a bit, then said
"I guess that is a good enough theory for now, quite smart of you to consider it, even if it is not something most would think possible. But magic does regularly do things that should be impossible, so why not this as well. That does leave us the problem of what to do now. If your theory is right then you have no living relatives who would be willing or capable of taking you in. Though some of the elf survivors of the first great fire at Ryumilua still live, since elves live such a long time, by your own words they did not know you well. From what I know there is a bit of disdain for half-elves among them so even their compassion and longing for children due to the rarity of elven children is unlikely to move them to take you in if I could get into contact with them."
He then stood back up just as abruptly and moved to sit down in his chair as he thought.
Ais disliked talking so much in front of a relative stranger, but she did not want this man to make a choice without hearing her opinion as well, and she had also made a tentative decision she hoped would be accepted as well.
"I want to live with Eleanor and Elaine if they are willing, and train to become a strong Monster Hunter like they are" Ais said. "Maybe I can start out supporting them like Elaine does now, so she can move on to being more of a monster hunter like she wants to be."
Eleanor and Elaine were shocked and flattered by those words, but Eleanor knew that teaching a 5 year old child to support a monster hunter like Palicos did was far too much to ask, and made her slightly uncomfortable at that. She knew Ais had most of her child-like innocence stripped away by losing her parents, and maybe watching Elaine butcher the great Jagras Eleanor thought guiltily, but Ais was still a child and knowingly putting a child in that much danger did not sit well with her. So she spoke up and gently said
"While I'm flattered that you look up to and trust us this much already, there is no way I will allow you to be in that much danger, Palico's grow up and learn fast, and it still takes them awhile before they are ready to actually go out with their Hunter partner. It would take you years probably. Even then Palicos are often left behind for the truly deadly dangerous quests and hunts because it is unfortunately very easy for Monsters to see them as a snack, with most Palicos not being strong or fast enough to defend themselves against the larger monsters. Despite taking many precautions, far too many Palicos die while helping their hunters."
Stubbornly Ais replied
"So, if it takes years then I might as well start now, I don't expect you to take me with you right away, I can stay here where it is safe when you two go out, and maybe keep learning and training from others who are not out hunting. I want to become strong, but I know it won't happen right away, even when Papa said he might start training me with wooden swords, daggers, and a bow and arrows he said it would take years too. And monsters are everywhere when people do not keep them away, so if I don't learn I will be trapped in one place the rest of my life, dependent on others to keep me safe forever."
The Commander who had listened to this with an amused grin on his face now interjected in what seemed like the beginnings of an argument.
"I think this is an excellent idea for now, I'll still try to find an elf or some couple in a safe zone who might be willing to take the child in until she grows up a bit, and investigate to see if there are any more details regarding the Burning Ryumilua forest and the disaster in the past, but such things take time, and if the child is willing to start learning a useful trade now, it will keep her occupied and help her in the later years of her life.
I can authorize a stipend to go to you Eleanor to help pay for all the things the child will need such as food and training equipment, and I know you have quite a few friends that might be willing to watch the child when you and Elaine go out on hunts and quests, especially the Palicos. If your main concern is the safety of the child, she will be safe enough here, even if it will be a very unusual childhood.
The fifth fleet is coming soon and I had considered assigning all the newbie hunters to veteran mentors, with you included at the top of my list, so this can be a test run for if such is practical. The child will also be even safer after the fifth fleet arrives since there will be so many more people to watch over her and deal with monsters."
Eleanor stared at the Commander during and after his speech with horrified disbelief but growing resignation as he addressed each of her concerns and solved them.
Elaine stared at the Commander with a delighted grin, having liked the idea from the beginning but not being willing to speak against Eleanor, and glanced at Ais to share a grin with her.
Ais stared at the Commander with a triumphant and pleased smile, since he had basically just agreed to her suggestion but said it in such an adult, wordy, but reasonable way that Eleanor could not argue with it, while catching Elaine's grin out of the corner of her eye and turning to share a grin with her, pleased that clearly Elaine was happy with the idea.
Ais did not like the idea of some random couple or elf 'taking her in' but knew that by the time that came up if it ever did she could argue that there was no need to change what had been working, that she would be happiest with Eleanor and Elaine.
This seemed like the best route Ais could take to become strong enough to kill the Black Dragon and avenge her burned home and parents, while rescuing her Momma if her momma was still alive, since Ais was not convinced yet that her Momma was dead, given that her momma was a wind spirit and all that. She knew that it was unlikely anyone else would believe her about her momma being alive, especially since it still seemed like a bad idea to tell anyone her Momma was a wind spirit, though she thought that she might tell Eleanor and Elaine after she had learned a bit more about what people thought about spirits and how they might react.
Elaine and Eleanor did not seem like strangers to her anymore, even though she had only met them this day.
Elaine had made frequent cheerful comments, good-natured complaints regarding the mud in her fur, and given informative simple descriptions about the plants, monsters, and endemic life that they were passing near as they walked for the hours it had taken to get here, so Ais felt like she knew Elaine well already.
Eleanor reminded Ais of her a mix of her Papa; strong, protective, and endlessly patient for those he loved, with her Momma; teasing and playful sometimes, but serious and careful when it came to matters of safety.
The Commander stared back at Eleanor expectantly after his speech, giving her time to process, but after a minute passed with everyone just staring in silence he frowned slightly then cleared his throat and said
"Well, is there anything else you want to report or talk about? Its getting late, and I'm sure you are all hungry and want to go home just as much as I do. If you don't have any better ideas of what to do with the child, this will work for now."
Eleanor sighed gustily, then said
"You're right, and we still need to drop off the great Jagras parts at the smithy for processing before they start rotting too, so, see you tomorrow or the next day Commander, we'll get out of here for now."
With that Eleanor, Elaine and Ais all walked out of the Commander's office. Eleanor lead the way to the smithy, which was really hot and loud, she then held a short conversation with a smith while Elaine dug out the great Jagras parts from the giant bag and laid them out on a table. Then they left for someplace else.
Ais paid no real attention to this since the Commander's words had reminded her of how hungry and tired she was. This had been the longest, most tiring day in her short life, especially since from her point of view it had been early morning when the Black Dragon attacked as she was eating her birthday breakfast, she had run away with her Momma, fallen toward the ground, fallen unconscious for what seemed like only seconds but might have been an entire day or longer for all Ais knew, then woken up early in the morning in the ancient forest, walked a bit, fell and cried, ran from the great Jagras, been rescued, and then walked for most of the day, with only a few rations Elaine dug out from the big bag to eat as they walked.
Ais mindlessly followed Eleanor and Elaine until they reached a crowded place full of people eating and drinking. Eleanor murmured something to Elaine, then Elaine indicated for Ais to follow her as they walked and weaved in between the people until they reached an empty table. Elaine and Ais sat down and a little bit later Eleanor walked up to the table with a basket full of pieces of bread and 3 empty cups. She set them down and told Ais,
"food and drink are coming up, but snack on this in the mean-time."
Ais silently nodded, immediately grabbing a piece of bread and shoving it in her mouth to eat. It tasted wonderful to Ais, though she was aware that her birthday breakfast, what little of it she got to eat, had been of much better quality and had sugar in it, which made everything better. Still, the bread was thick, chewy, with a nutty taste and bits of seeds in it, and more importantly to Ais, it was not salty and tough Jerky, bland mystery meat, or crunchy and hard like the trail bars. This was just plain bread, easy to eat, and there was a promise of more food in the near future.
The promised food turned out to be a stew with chopped vegetables and chunks of meat, slightly salty but not as bad as the Jerky. The drinks were a watered down apple juice for Elaine and Ais, and some sort of alcohol for Eleanor. It was all delicious to Ais, who ate quickly at first. Though it became increasingly hard for her to keep her eyes open and keep scooping up the stew and chewing since Ais was hit by a wave of tiredness. Ais still managed to finish the stew and then lay her head down on the table to rest a bit while Elaine and Eleanor finished, then drifted off to sleep.
-scene break-scene break-
Ais' dreams were very strange and disjointed.
She would be in a foggy place reading words on a giant screen at one point. Thinking and planning for a new life while remembering her old one.
Then suddenly she was a human woman in a strange, dull but safe world with what seemed like very blurry eyesight, almost no sense of smell, and even dim hearing compared to what Ais is used to. There were no giant monsters, and very few plants compared to what Ais knew, but lots of large brick, metal, and concrete buildings and streets.
Then she/the woman/ Feline would be reading a book and picturing bright colors, awesome landscapes, interesting people, and amazing adventures in her head.
Everything was from the point of view of the woman, so it seemed like Ais was the one seeing all these things, but a part of her was aware that this was not actually Ais, but this Feline woman. Even then she was unsure if the woman was really named Feline, since there was a blurry image or gargle of sound, another name that the woman thought was her birth name.
Then the woman/Feline would be bored, in a room with lots of people sitting at desks writing stuff down while one person at the front of the room was speaking to them. School. Was thought strongly with mixed emotions.
Then Feline was watching pictures with sound and movement on a box with a screen, a TV, laughing at people with spiky or colorful hair, gigantic eyes, and very exaggerated emotions and body language as they go on adventures and save their world from terrible threats. TV Shows, Anime, Cartoons.
Then Feline was standing behind a counter, with people in a line in front of her, handing her pieces of green paper, dollar bills,sliding pieces of plastic through a machine, credit cards, or holding up thin rectangle plastic blocks, cell phones, with numbers and lots of black lines close together, gift card bar-codes. Feline writes letters and symbols on cups, and then rushes around a small space, a kiosk, making strange complicated drinks, like caramel macchiato or frappucino, then hands them to people with a forced smile and farewell.
Then Feline is reading words on a white screen with a black keyboard beneath it, her laptop computer, reading fan-fiction online. Feline laughs at the jokes of characters, blushes at a naughty description of 'sex' between characters, cringes at stupid decisions the characters make. Feline is escaping from her boring life by reading about exciting fictionalized things.
The woman/Feline cries when an important person to a beloved character dies, sympathizing and remembering an old cranky man called 'grandpa', dieing, going to a field of grass with rows of flat gray stones on the ground, seeing a rectangular hole with a big box suspended above it, and also remembering a frail, thin, stiff body of a gray and black striped cat, a silver tabby, wrapped in a towel in a small hole to the side of a house, and a man, her Dad, blinking back tears and slowly shoveling dirt over that towel wrapped body.
Then there is a new job, in a different place but working for the same company. Walking around pushing grocery carts into their proper places. Placing groceries in plastic bags. Pushing a broom around the aisles of a grocery store. Cleaning restrooms.
This job is repetitive, boring, considered a demotion for some. But it keeps Feline in good shape from all the walking and pays the same so Feline does not care.
Then there was that foggy place from the start, Feline reading words talking about her own death, and choices. So many choices. Making a choice to risk the unknown. Reading words saying Monster Hunter, Danmachi and then Ais own name with a short bland description of the terrible attack that took Ais parents from her. Reading of 'skills and abilities,' a curse, and planning out a vague, fuzzy future fighting monsters and meeting with a strange white haired boy and lots of pretty women.
-scene break-_-scene break-_-scene break-_-scene break-_-scene break-_
Ais woke up again. She found herself in a room, on the floor but with something soft beneath her and blankets on top of her. Before she even looked around the memories from her dreams came back.
She remembered. Ais remembered not being Ais, instead being a woman called Feline, a nickname that she used and liked more than her birth name with a strange but good life from Ais perspective. But the woman Feline thinking the life was boring, average, dull, and pointless but not being willing to change it out of fear of the unknown and the certain knowledge that it could be much worse, that she was incredibly lucky even if she is also bored.
Ais remembered that woman being given a choice after reading that she died, that she could be reincarnated and choosing to become Ais, knowing there will be tragedy and danger in her future but determined to face it for that vague fuzzy 'happy ending' she hopes to get.
Ais is very confused, sad, and angry. Who is she? Is she that woman, Feline, just stuck in the body of a child?
Is she herself, Ais, beloved daughter of Papa and Momma Aria?
Is she a future Monster Hunter, who will work hard to stand by the side of Eleanor and Elaine as a Monster Hunter after spending time training to support them first?
Is she the one who mentally promised herself to grow strong enough to kill that terrible giant black dragon to avenge her Papa?
Who is she really? Why did she have so many strange dreams? Were those really just dreams or memories?
Ais felt confused and sad, so she cried. She cried for a long time, not aware of where she was, lost in her own memories, memories from Feline, and dreams. Ais was questioning her very identity and sense of self.
Eventually she felt furry arms awkwardly hugging her, and whispering comforting, soothing words and making purring sounds. Ais felt her terrible sobs slow down, and finally stop. She felt miserable, her eyes and head hurt, her nose felt wet and filled with liquid snot. But someone was here with her, trying to comfort her.
She painfully opened her eyes to see a head with white, lavender, and purple fur, and concerned gray eyes looking at her with large fuzzy triangle ears on top of that head.
This is Elaine, a felyne Palico. Ais thought, I can trust Elaine.
Although a cat with gray fur and black stripes with yellow-green eyes that Feline talked to honestly as she cried when she was a child, then petting the cat as it purred and Feline calmed down also lingered in Ais memories and influenced that decision.
Regardless this was comfort, there was no judgment in that gaze, just concern.
"I'm scared, confused, and sad" Ais whispered. "They are gone, all of them gone in one way or the other, I miss them already, I dread the birthdays and holidays where they won't be with me. Everything is different now, I'm not sure who I am anymore, its all jumbled together in my head. Please, tell me, who am I now? Please help me." Ais continued.
Ais was privately referring to her parents in this life, the family of Feline, and the safe happy times she could be a child in either life when she mentioned those who were gone that she would miss, but knew Elaine would think she was only referring to her parents since her desire to speak honestly only went so far.
"Meow, you are Ais Wallentstein, half-elf, 5 years old. You are a scared sad girl who bravely wants to face your fears by learning 1st how to support Eleanor and I as we hunt monsters, then learn how to hunt monsters yourself. Meow." Elaine stated seriously for once.
"Meow, Eleanor and I can never take the place of your parents, meow, not truly, meow, but we can support you and help create a new place for you. Meow. We can celebrate birthdays and holidays with you, meow, we can hold you and try to comfort you like I am neow" Elaine explained.
"I will help you as best I can whenever you ask for help. Meow" Elaine promised.
Ais stared into Elaine's eyes, repeating those words to herself mentally, and telling herself.
The past might have helped shape who I am now, the memories of Feline will give me ideas and knowledge of what I might be able to do, but it was Ais' choice how I will react to any new things life threw my way.
Ais had decided to learn how to support Eleanor and Elaine like a palico before those memories came, and train to be a Monster Hunter, to kill the Black Dragon. Ais had decided she did not want to be helpless or weak anymore so would do everything she could to grow stronger and stronger. Ais also had a vague, fuzzy idea of a 'happy ending' or goal that she was willing to endure hardship to reach.
She wanted to be strong enough to kill that giant black dragon, as well as every other monster she might face. She wanted to find her Momma if she was still alive somehow , even if she was a wind spirit without a body.
But that would not be an ending if Ais did things right, the whole point was so she would not fear her end, her death anymore. Ais needed to live in the present, she would prepare for the future by training, learning, and growing stronger. But not worry about or agonize over some fuzzy goals or plans that someone else had made. Ais refused to let memories from a strange woman force her to become someone else. Ais was not Feline, Ais refused to become Feline, even Feline had not really liked herself much and Ais definitely did not like what she knew of Feline.
"Thank you, Elaine." Ais said with a weak, no teeth showing smile. "Thank you so much, I needed that" Ais repeated and emphasized.
"Is there a sink near here where I can splash my face with water? Or a cup of water that I can use and refill?" Ais then asked.
"Meow, of course! Let me show you!" Elaine exclaimed with some relieved and forced cheer in her voice.
Switch to Elaine's Point of View
Elaine had known that Ais was a young child that had gone through a terrible experience, Eleanor had warned her that Ais might wake up from a nightmare and need comfort when Elaine had offered her room to set up the cot, but it was still very hard to watch, hug, and try to comfort someone who seemed to produce an endless source of tears, snot and make very distressing sounds.
Then there were those words, those desperate pleading words begging for help. Elaine wanted to help very much, but she was not comfortable being serious, she was not really sure that she had helped properly, and she was also not comfortable with the snot that was in her fur. For some reason, even though there was regularly much worse things in her fur from harvesting parts from Monsters, snot felt more disgusting. Although part of it was probably because Elaine knew she had the option to get clean right next door.
Going to the bathroom to help Ais splash her face would also give her the opportunity to get that snot out of her fur, and hopefully calm Ais down so there would be no more tears and snot for now.
Maybe Elaine could offer to fill a bath for Ais? That always seemed to relax Eleanor and even if Ais was no where near as stinky as Eleanor had been from being splashed with the innards of the great Jagras she was still somewhat stinky from sweating so much yesterday. Both Eleanor and Elaine had a chance to clean up after they had made up the cot for the sleeping Ais, but had not wanted to wake her up to get her to bathe too.
Elaine got up, held out a paw to Ais to help her stand up, then led Ais to another room that had a sink, a toilet, and a bathtub in it.
Switch back to Ais Point of View
Ais headed right for the sink, stepped up onto a step-stool that was right in front of it, looked at the handle on the sink briefly then carefully lifted the piece that seemed to be shaped to fit a hand or paw. Water came out from a spout beneath it, so Ais cupped her hands and splashed her face.
A part of her, her memories from Feline, felt that this was normal and expected, but at the same time the tree-house of Papa and Momma had not had something quite this complex or easy to use so this should be unfamiliar. Still, the water was very soothing on her face, so Ais was determined not to constantly question where every memory came from to avoid another spiral of anxiety.
There was a mirror above the sink, so after turning off the water Ais stared at her own face, her long strait blond hair, gold iris and almond shaped eyes that had a bit of red in the white part and surrounding them from all her crying, her small but pointed nose also pink from crying, thin pink lips and her pointed ears sticking out a bit. This face was nothing like that woman's face, so this was Ais, she was Ais and even hundreds or thousands of memories from that woman would not change who Ais was.
Brief switch to Elaine Pov
Elaine had followed Ais and after checking to see if Ais was relatively fine she had turned a lever on the bathtub and gotten a white cloth kept near it, wet the cloth then carefully rubbed that wet cloth over the parts of her fur that had snot on it. She rinsed the cloth then repeated that action until her fur was clean again. Elaine did not like baths most of the time, only reluctantly getting them when her entire body was covered in disgusting fluids that had dried in her fur on those occasions where there was no handy water source nearby when butchering large monsters, so this was the compromise she regularly used to get clean.
Switch Back to Ais Pov
After staring at her own face, even making faces and watching her features move in the mirror, reaffirming her own identity in her own mind for a while. Ais splashed her face one more time, turned off the water again, then stepped off the step-stool to look at Elaine.
Elaine had finished cleaning her fur and had just glanced at Ais to check on her, so Elaine waved a paw at the bathtub and asked
"Meow, Do you want to take a bath?"
Ais paused in thought for a few seconds, then nodded. Elaine then got a wooden plug also kept on a small shelf next to the bathtub and put it in the drain, then turned a lever with a little red stone on it and waved a paw at Ais.
"place your hand in the water to check how hot it is getting frequently, meow, the lever with the blue stone is cold water. Meow. The one I just turned with the red stone is hot water. Meow. That shelf has soap, the liquid stuff in the bottle helps clean hair, and of course the washcloth is to scrub with. There is also a cup to pour water over your head if you don't want to dunk it in the water. Meow. Do you want help bathing?" Elaine said.
Ais paused again, her Momma had always insisted on helping Ais bathe, but Ais knew what to do and that woman had bathed or showered on her own for so long she no longer remembered bathing with someone in the same room and would be uncomfortable and indignant at the idea that she needed help or the invasion of privacy.
At the time of the dreams it had seemed like there was no real context, that she was seeing and hearing everything, watching her hands move and hearing herself speak as if she was a puppet being moved by someone else, with only a few thoughts or memories to explain them. Now even small details were surfacing in brief images and thoughts as anything related to them came up, as if those dreams had opened a gate and now the memories were eager to jump out at the slightest excuse.
Should Ais ask for help when she did not need it just to spite those memories and keep trying to cling to the things she thought of as Ais memories?
Or should she use those memories, let them be a part of her life as tools to help her grow stronger faster but cling to the vast differences between the life of the woman and her own to help her retain her identity?
The second option appealed to Ais a lot more, if she just thought of those memories as tools to be used she could gain the benefits of learning without having to wait for someone here teaching her.
There would be no more "We'll tell you when you are older, just have patience" or obviously made up excuses if Ais had a question about something people felt uncomfortable telling a child or thought was too complex for her to understand. Ais could just consult the memories of the woman Feline, and only have to ask a question if it was something that even that woman did not know, like details regarding monsters, using weapons, magic, the demi-human races, or places here in this world, since none of those had existed in that woman's world.
The various things different from that woman's world and this one would also help Ais keep track of what was a part of Ais personality and identity and what was a part of that woman.
Realizing she had been staring into space blankly for a while Ais shook her head violently then quietly said "I'll bathe on my own." to Elaine who had been standing by the bathtub staring at Ais in increasing worry.
"Meow, I'll just be right next outside the door and can easily hear you if you need help with anything Ais, Meow" Elaine responded.
Ais nodded, then walked to the bathtub to test the water. She noticed she must have been thinking for quite a while, the bathtub was already half full. A test of the water revealed it to be very hot, so Ais turned off the lever with the red stone and turned one with a blue stone on. Elaine walked out and shut the door, but left a small crack open. Ais removed her clothes and after testing the water again, finding it still hot but bearable, turned off the cold water lever. She then got in and set to bathing herself.
After the basics of cleaning herself were done, Ais drained the bathtub, grabbed a towel to dry off then another to cover up her hair, twisting it up around her head, avoiding the ears, as she remembered the woman had done with her own hair. It felt both strange and natural for Ais to do something she would never think up on her own from her life living with Momma and Papa. After all, drying off was something that only took Momma a single word and a bit of wind magic to do, which was a very convenient if petty use of Momma's wind magic. It had always caused Ais to giggle, since the wind felt sort of like when Mama tickled her, warm and always seeking out new places to touch.
Suddenly Ais was hit with a new wave of sadness realizing she might never feel Mama's wind magic tickling and drying her, never feel Momma's hands on her skin again either tickling her or just hugging and holding her while singing during 'cuddle and nap-time.'
No! Ais shook her head violently with a a determined frown, Momma was a wind spirit, she could have just turned herself into wind when the dragon tried to eat her.
Momma had never done that before because she said it could take years and years to gather enough magic to create a new body, and she would need help from another mage, since her Papa had helped the 1st time but she could do it. So Momma was still alive in some way, she just might be stuck as a mass of concentrated wind and magic and might need help creating a new body.
Ais would learn how to support Elaine and Eleanor, she would learn how to fight monsters, and she would also become an awesome mage somehow so she could help rescue her Momma and create a new body for her if she had lost her old one!
Ais nodded to herself, feeling determined and slightly happy at a new goal that would be so awesome when she pulled it off. As long as she had so many goals to work toward she could ignore that she was not with her family anymore, that they were gone and pretend that this was just an awesome and fun adventure like in all the stories that the woman had read.
The fact that Ais life had actually been just a story to the woman Feline before was forcefully denied as soon as that thought intruded.
Ais was not a fictionalized character!
The characters in the woman's stories did not smell the scent of soap and water, or remember the scent of burning flesh, the metallic scent of blood, or the disgusting smell of stomach acid and poo from that great Jaggas.
Fictionalized characters did not feel the air moving slightly on their skin and the small hairs covering it, see the small hairs and pores on their skin, or hear the sounds of feet moving above, below, and to one side of her, distant voices of people talking, a clapping of wood on wood somewhere, or clanging metal.
Ais listed these senses, mostly not related to sight, or using sight that was much more clear than Feline could see for herself. Because Feline could see characters and scenery in the TV or read descriptions from books or fan-fiction, but rarely paid any attention to a sense other than sight or major sounds due to her own senses being so dull.
Ais used her senses as a mental litany of reassurances to herself that she was real and different from Feline. Then Ais paused in sudden thought, why were there that many sounds around her?
If there were all those sounds that must mean it was no longer early morning and there was probably a lot that Eleanor and Elaine wanted to do today, so Ais should get dressed again rather than standing with just 2 towels on and thinking about things all the time.
It was time to act rather than think or wallow in emotion,
Ais thought with determination as she dropped her towel, then looked for a place to hang it, untwisting the towel from her hair and hanging that one too, then started getting dressed again, though with a wrinkle of her nose as she smelled the stinky smell from her dried sweat on her clothes, hoping that on the list of what Eleanor and Elaine planned to do today getting new clothes was one of them, so at least one set could be washed and dried while she was wearing the other.
After Ais walked out the door of the bathroom Elaine leaped to her feet, slightly embarrassed. Elaine had been sitting and grooming herself by licking her fur, or licking the back of her paws and rubbing them on the places her tongue could not reach. Ais smiled a bit at that, but pretended that there was nothing unusual about the situation and just walked to stand by the other door that she thought lead outside, or at least into a hallway.
"Meow, I think Eleanor has a comb if you want to comb out your hair. Meow, then we can go get breakfast and get the things you will need to live here! Elaine started off talking casually and ended on yet another cheer.
Ais noticed that Elaine seemed to get exited by the second part of her words and hoped it meant that despite Ais crying all over her earlier it meant that Elaine was still happy for Ais to live with them, and not just that Elaine was hungry.
"That door leads to Eleanor's room, so just knock slightly and ask her for a comb. Meow" Elaine mentioned when Ais had started reaching for the door. Ais frowned in slight confusion, if this was the door to Eleanor's room and the other led to the bathroom then where was the door to outside?
Elaine noticed Ais confusion and said
"Meow, its a bit of an odd setup and can be inconvenient, but Eleanor's door is the only one that leads to the hall, so we have to go through it to leave, and she has to go through our room to go to the bathroom. Meow. Eleanor has a lot of spare armor and weapons for her Monster Hunting, and the other room might be bigger, but it is full. Meow. I don't need much space so there was actually more open space in my room for your cot than in Eleanor's, meow, she has just enough space to maneuver around, but would have to put your cot in the clear space leading to the door if you had slept in her room, meow."
Her confusion cleared, Ais knocked on the door. She heard Eleanor's voice saying "come in" and entered. She stopped and stared though, there were shelves with boxes, weapons and bags hanging on the walls, a wooden stand that had armor on it, and rows of wooden chests with pictures of more armor or weapons on them piled on top of each other. There were narrow paths through the chests to the door, the walls, and the bed that Eleanor was sitting on, but not much free space otherwise. There was a strong scent of metal, oil, wood, and a slightly earthy scent that she thought came from the hide and fleshy parts of the the armor made from monsters that was everywhere.
Ais timidly said "comb please?" while gesturing to her still damp hair hanging limply, since the towel had actually trapped moisture in her hair after drying it to a certain point. Eleanor smiled and reached over to a small shelf over her pillow that had an unlabeled small box on it alongside boxes that had labels of bottles. She grabbed the box and said, "do you want me to braid your hair as well, I have a few spare hair ties as well."
Ais thought for a second, she had never worn her hair in a braid before, but the woman's memories showed that though it was rare for her to bother, once braided the hair was out of the way and took up a smaller amount of space. That seemed like it would be something good for a warrior, and putting that hair in a bun after braiding it meant it would be even more out of the way. So Ais nodded and walked over to Eleanor through one of the pathways. Eleanor patted the foot of the bed to show where Ais could sit, then started combing Ais' hair for her.
Ais had stiffened up at first, not sure what to do. Although her Momma had combed her hair for her, that was her Momma, and though Eleanor did not feel as much a stranger as she could be, given how short a time Ais had actually known her, she was not quite family yet in Ais mind, the way Elaine had become. Eleanor was an adult, and athough Ais thought Elaine might be an adult too, Elaine was a Palico, she was the same size as Ais, so it did not seem like she was an authority figure and sort of scary adult the way Eleanor was. Although Ais definitely trusted Eleanor to protect Ais from monsters, she was not sure how much she trusted Eleanor in other ways yet, and letting Eleanor comb her hair felt somehow intimate and like an intrusion.
So Ais leaned and scooted a bit away from Eleanor and said "I can comb my own hair" after a few seconds of sitting in increasing discomfort. Eleanor silently handed over the comb, and put the small box in between the two, where Ais saw long strips of a leathery material, a brush, another different type of comb, and a ribbon. Ais finished combing her hair, then tentatively started trying to braid her hair based on Feline's memories of braiding their hair. Ais fingers kept fumbling and she kept losing track of which strand needed to go over the other so she reluctantly gave up, combed her hair out again, then scooted over and turned so her back was to Eleanor and quietly said "braid please?" resolving to endure the discomfort for now, and learn how to braid her own hair as soon as possible.
When Eleanor started to braid Ais hair it still felt slightly intimate, but in a comfortable way instead of the way it had felt when Eleanor had tried combing Ais hair. Why was there such a difference? Ais pondered, then answered her own mental question. Maybe because Eleanor had not asked Ais the first time it seemed forced, an invasion of personal space, and this time Ais was the one who had asked Eleanor and so gave an implied permission. Once Eleanor was done braiding and told Ais that she was, Ais turned back to Eleanor and said firmly
"Ask first or wait for me to ask before touching me please" Eleanor blinked in surprise, then nodded with understanding.
"Lets go get breakfast from the canteen, then shop for some basic supplies for you so you don't have to borrow from Elaine and I all the time." Eleanor suggested.
Ais nodded with relief, hoping that the drama and surprises would stop coming for a while so she could get used to all the changes and figure out that meditation that the woman had read was supposed to help.
Thankfully there were only a few minor surprises still, with breakfast being something that Felines memories called buffet style and the supplies Eleanor and Elaine thought were necessary consisting not just ordinary things like clothes, her own comb, brush, hair ties, shoes, a wooden stick with short stiff bristles of something like hair, a toothbrush, and other things that seemed necessary.
But there was also a few more Vigour-wasps and a giant basket with a thin net-like cloth on the top and sides that could be unfastened. to keep the vigor-wasps in and still see them or let them out in order to cultivate their vitality nectar.
They also purchased a generic set of leather armor; not even monster themed, and picked up a giant bag similar to the one Elaine carried everywhere, apparently made from the stomach of the very same great Jagras they had hunted the previous day, a giant conch shell of all things, and a wooden object called a plunder-blade that had claw like points that Ais was supposed to train with before being given the actual weapons that Palico's were trained with.
"Giant Jagras stomach's make the best bags for storage due to the magic stone making them able to hold a lot more than they look like they can and making the bag more stretchable and tougher. We can grind a bit of the magic stone into dust and spread it on the inside and outside of the stomach to make the effect permanent. If you want to train to support us you will need your own equipment with the bag begin the most important. The vigor-wasps can heal injuries and are always useful, and the other two objects are gadgets that Palico's use. Normally we would have to go to the Wildspire Waste and Grimalki tribes of monsters to get them, but that is too dangerous for you." Eleanor explained.
After that they bought two giant books and went back to Eleanor and Elaine's rooms in the main ship of Asteria.
"Do you know how to read yet? I know children are generally taught around 5 years old, but don't know if your parents followed that tradition since you were so isolated. Or if the language changed if you really are from hundreds of years in the past somehow." Eleanor asked.
Ais looked at the books and read out their titles aloud
"A Guide for Palico Equipment, Gagets and Weapons, how and when to use them"
" A Palico's duty, job, and joy: supporting a Monster Hunter Meowster"
"Good, you do know how to read. These books will teach you the theory and serve as a reference for your future equipment. Start organizing everything into your new great Jagras bag and take them out when you need them for now. Especially start reading those books. If you don't mind, Elaine and I will be heading out to hunt down more Great Jagras. We really need more great Jagras bags.
I know it seems like a lot to read, so take your time, take breaks to familiarize yourself with the shape of your plunder-blade or to try playing your cheerbango, the shell object. Or whatever you can do in our set of rooms, though don't try touching any of my weapons since they are all very sharp.
Tomorrow we will take you around and introduce you to other Palico's and hunters, and Elaine and the others will start showing you what you need to practice, but especially with a third person now we really need more room, so hunting down great Jaggas and getting more bags to put all of my spare armors and weapons in will help instead of all these chests, especially since once she starts getting better at hunting and making them Elaine will be getting her own sets of armor and weapons designed for her paws that are not the Palico style support type weapons as well.
I'll look into getting a bigger set of rooms as well, but unless we want to move all the way out of the main part of Asteria to one of the shipwrecks that are not claimed yet and then fix it up, it is unlikely we will get more room." Eleanor said apologetically as she finished her speech.
Ais nodded and said "It is fine, I have plenty to occupy myself with"
inwardly a bit relieved to have some time to herself.
Eleanor and Elaine then left, pointing out some stored food and water for when Ais got hungry but with Elaine claiming
"Meow, we will not be gone that long, meow, we should be back before dinner-time, so just stay here for a while okay. meow."
That woman Feline's memories had been appearing at seemingly random times throughout the day, making Ais stop in place and vacantly stare at nothing while the more intense memories were coming, so Ais was desperate to try focused meditation or anything else she could think of to help sort through and categorize all the memories that had already come, and hopefully be able to control when the memories came so she would stop randomly spacing out as yet another memory informed her of what it looked like Ais was doing while those memories were bombarding her.
Also, even if she disliked the idea of being considered a fictional character, if Ais deliberately tried to access every memory that woman had regarding the fictional worlds that made up this world it and the back-story description that the woman read for Ais own character and world may give her valuable information. Ais would not depend on that information of course, since she intended to make her own decisions and the information would be outdated soon enough and might be incorrect anyway, but some of it might be helpful.
Ais decided to start with with this focused meditation. According to what little that woman Feline knew about focused meditation it was about breathing in a pattern, staying very still, and temporarily pushing emotions and any but one single thought aside to be dealt with later until it actually worked, examining the single thought until it is understood and accepted, then repeating that but changing what is focused on for the next session. A comfortable position also apparently would help since discomfort would increase distractions and make the meditation take longer. Feline had never successfully meditated herself but had read lots of stories about people meditating to recover mana, magic or sort through emotional turmoil.
Ais settled down on the cot made for her in Elaine's and her room, deciding to try laying down like she was going to sleep soon first, since that was the most comfortable position she knew. And if she actually fell asleep she would at least hopefully get more memories out of the way or sorted, since the woman also believed that dreams were meant to be the minds way of sorting through what had happened throughout the day or facing and acknowledging any troubles or fears in the case of nightmares.
Ais started trying breath in slowly while counting to 7, hold her breath while counting to 7, then let it out while counting to 7, since that pattern had been used by multiple people while describing meditation. Ais quickly found that it was way too hard to breath in and out while counting to 7, so changed it to 5 which she had managed to reach a few times as long as she counted quickly rather than using a whole 5 seconds. Ais could hold her breath for longer, but mediation was supposed to feel natural and be part of a pattern. Since most of the people meditating had been teens or adults they probably had bigger lungs Ais guessed as the reason she could not breath in or out for 7 seconds.
After Ais had been breathing a while, she felt very calm already so just decided to try to think only about that dream memory where the woman had been reading words about making choices, and choosing to become Ais. That memory been very disturbing to Ais, so she had done her best to bury it until now, but there might be useful information that Ais could use in her journey to become a Monster Hunter and awesome mage, so if Ais thought of it as just a tool, or just a summary in a book it might not be so disturbing anymore.
That memory came to the surface quickly, and this time Ais could recall a lot more details, even getting bits of what the woman had been thinking as she read those words, especially as the woman had desperately tried to recall everything she knew about the worlds she would be stuck in a version of in hopes of making a vague plan to be the safest and happiest she could be. (re-read prologue to see what Ais 'recalls')
The woman's memories regarding Monster Hunters was useless, even Ais already knew more than that woman had from Elaine's explanations and general knowledge taught by her Momma and Papa, but the woman's memories of that one fan-fiction were very interesting. The one fan-fiction the woman had read that was also a crossover between Danmachi and Monster Hunter might serve as a comparison to the relative strength of Monster Hunters and Adventurers, and implied Monster Hunters were generally more skilled than even lvl 2 Adventurers.
The woman had more knowledge regarding Orario and Danmachi at least. So, the Japanese words, Dungeon ni Deai O Monteru no wa Machgatte Iru Darou ka that meant "Is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon" which also had a nickname Danmachi. That sounded very perverted to Ais, did the fact that the woman loved what few long fan-fiction stories she could find of it mean she was a pervert too? The woman's vague plans had even been perverted, she wanted to join this Bell's harem mostly so she could have sex with all the pretty women who had fallen in love with him and see if sex with this Bell would be any good too.
Ais decided that the woman was a pervert, and Ais would not be doing things to try to fulfill that woman's perverted fantasy, but then again maybe that was something all adults became so after Ais became an adult she would decide whether she wanted to join a harem like the one that kept forming around that poor boy called Bell. But all that was 18 years or more in the future if it happened at all, since the woman had wanted to be older than the 16 the Ais in the original story was when Bell entered Orario at age 14 for him, and had decided to be 23 at the start of the canon story so changed when Ais would be sent in the future.
Ais would not discard the possibility of entering Orario and becoming an adventurer like the Ais in the story, but she would not make the mistake of trying to create a future similar to the original story, since after all the ROB wanted to be entertained, and that woman had not seemed to realize her plans were still reaching for the safest, most boring option. Really, she had mostly wanted things to remain the same, just with herself stronger and with more skills so she would be safer and even more impressive.
The idea of learning how to fly was awesome though, Ais would definitely try that, no more having to walk for hours to get anywhere!
Ais also knew that there was a good chance a boy named Bell would not enter Orario in 18 years, since the world outside Orario was much more dangerous than the original story with all the extra large monsters and Bell might either be killed or decide to become a monster hunter instead of an adventurer, so depending on anything to be the same would not be a good idea.
Still, the knowledge of Falna, and the incredibly useful skills that it could grant Ais if there was an actual ROB who was willing to manipulate things to give her those skills was very useful. Ais would definitely try to learn about any gods outside Orario and see if she could convince them to grant her and maybe Elaine a falna too. If not that, she might see if she could convince Eleanor and Elaine to take her to visit Orario so that she could find a god or goddess willing to grant her a falna who would not force her to stay in Orario the rest of her life.
The idea of joining the Zeus/Hera famillias also had an appeal, the ROB had made a small comment/hint that if she made enough changes before they left on their quest to kill the One-eyed Black dragon that they might actually succeed. But if they were powerful enough to think they stood a chance against the Black Dragon, they probably had really strong members and would not want to have to babysit someone new, so Ais would try to gain a falna and get stronger before trying to join their famillia.
Although Ais would likely not be allowed to be a part of that fight directly even if she was part of their famillia, since in 3 years she would still only be 8 years old, and Ais knew adults strongly believed in keeping children out of danger when possible. But if Ais was allowed to maybe act as support for the adventurers, or got them into contact with actual Monster Hunters like Eleanor and convinced the adventurers to listen to their wise advice and have Monster Hunters help them, then Ais would be sort-of satisfied that she had at least helped others kill the One-eyed Black Dragon. It would be dead and no threat to anyone at least.
Maybe her Momma in her wind form was stuck in the area around the Black Dragon, like a ghost, and after the Black Dragon was dead Ais could find her and listen to her instructions for helping Momma gain a physical body. Then Ais would have her Momma back and they could be happy, though Ais would still continue learning to be an Adventurer, Mage, or Monster Hunter depending on what she most wanted at that time, maybe even all three. Ais would just be able to take her time and think of it as a future career while enjoying her childhood with her Momma.
Ais slowly became aware of her surroundings again, and stretched out, feeling happy and content that she had been able to find those important memories from the woman, then calmly make decisions and plans she knew that Feline would never make herself, thus reaffirming that Ais was herself not that woman.
That ROB had probably been lying to the woman about reincarnating her, instead he had just stuck the woman's memories in Ais head. Ais reassured herself.
Ais thought of that ROB as a powerful god that had not descended and sealed his own powers away, so he was probably in that heaven place watching this world, and a few other worlds, while doing the jobs of the the gods and goddess who had descended. But if he kept his word, as seen though that woman's memories, about giving Ais that Inventory skill when she gained a Falna, she would do her best to lead an interesting life to entertain him while still seeking her own happiness by fulfilling the goals she set herself. Since her goals had very little to do with the original story, her life would likely be interesting just because it would be different from something the god that called himself ROB would have watched from the original worlds.
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Review Please!
A.N.: will be a very long author note. but if you find yourself confused by things in the story my author's notes are not just there as comments. I will be adding in explanations for my reasoning as well. For example:
You will see in the future that some of the necessary OC's I am creating, will be based on characters from the possible worlds/ series that Feline could have chosen, since I decided having those descriptions of possible other worlds would be unnecessary and just filler to the story if I did not tie it in somehow to the story. I'm going to alter the prologue yet again to add possible worlds if I find myself using a character from a different story, though I'll try to keep mostly to the ones I've posted so far with two additions and a more detailed description of the series from Mercedes Lackey and David Eddings I will pull characters from. So re-read the prologue and look up those francishes/series for an idea of where some of my Ocs are coming from if you find my future descriptions lacking.
I added in Yu Yu Hakushu to the list since I like the character Kurama from it, and have already made a renart OC loosely based on him in one of the chapters I am still editing and have not posted yet. I have also added Inuyasha as well since I can find a way to use some of the characters as yet more Ocs. Transforming demons or already established characters from other franchises I am familiar with to fit into this new world I'm creating into the beast races or famillia members of Danmachi and Monster Hunter is an easy way to give people actual pictures for all the Ocs. I'll still do my best to describe the OC characters, but having an actual image and basic personality from another franchise will hopefully help fill in some gaps and reduce the amount of time I spend researching or laboriously writing out descriptions.
Review or PM me Please!
I won't hold chapter's hostage but I am finally writing again after years of just reading, to improve my writing skills and due to the plot bunny that did not leave me alone. I would really like some feedback of what those who are reading think of the story so far. I wrote 7 chapters before posting the prologue, but got stuck on the 8th from losing inspiration other than a vague outline of planned events I have in a background and summary file that I use as reference. I have rewritten most of those chapters twice due to finding new information or retrospectively wanting to mention something that became important in later chapters.
So if there is some glaring issue that I am just missing I'd like to know now so I can re-write the next few chapters before posting them.
I'm not sure how it works still, other than private messaging, since I have not beta read for someone else or had someone beta read my other abandoned stories, but if anyone wants to act as a beta reader and editor that might help. I go through the stories many times and try to edit them myself, but I already noticed a few mistakes that I fixed in the prologue and 1st chapter, and know that it might be irritating for those who are following my stories to constantly get notifications of new chapters only to find that it was me editing. I'll try to only post my fixed mistakes and edits at the same time as a new chapter, and delay posting a new chapter until I have previewed it in the doc manager and fixed more mistakes. But a beta reader would be even better.
If you are not willing to commit to beta reading, advice on the two franchises I am using from those more knowledgeable would be welcome as well. I am not willing to start playing the Monster Hunter World game itself, but the wiki website that acts as a guide for it seems detailed enough, with lists and pictures of the monsters, equipment, and locations seeming the most useful so far. I will alter things when the game mechanics don't merge with the world of Danmachi but if anyone actually plays the game and knows things not on the website, that might help.
For example:
I like my substitution of Great Jagras bags for the inventory, and making travel times and fights longer than a few seconds, since it seems more plausible. The lack of inventory is a big part of the reason for supporter's in Danmachi. But if there is another drop item or carve from a different monster, or rune enchanted bags in Orario that could also work like a pouch or bag of holding that can easily be added in to the story since Ais is still very uninformed about the world and relying on Eleanor and Elaine for most of her knowledge; the famillia she will be partially joining in the future can be the in-story correction to her knowledge.
Travel time and danger on the route between Asteria and Orario will also be the main reason they are relatively isolated from each other other than material goods from the few people willing to make the trip.
Minor Spoilers for the story don't read if you want to be surprised, or are just sick of my author's note. Near the end is some more questions about opinions for my story that could help frame a quick review.
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I plan to draw some parallels between Palico and supporters in the future, with Ais acting as one at first.
I have found 2 good wiki websites, danmachi . fandom Wiki / danmachi_wiki (remove spaces). There is also monster hunter world .wiki . Fextralife .com (remove spaces) 1 site for each world that I am using to research things so far, making up details when there is no clear information or the crossover/fusion element would make things different anyway. I am also occasionally reading more fan-fiction to get those author's perspective of what each world would be like, and using Google for random information like conversion between the metric system and imperial system used by Americans, where I live.
But again, the websites and fan-fiction might be inaccurate, such as the confusion regarding Ais name due to there being a light novel, manga, and anime for Danmachi under different titles as well as movies I think. I have gone with Ais Wallenstein so far, but the fan-fiction website lists her character name as Aizu W., and fan-fiction uses either Ais or Aiz most frequently.
A few more general questions I'd like an answer to:
Is there enough detailed description, realistic emotions, and dialogue to make this interesting and plausible? Is it too detailed and boring with too much description of daily life or emotional angst so you would prefer I skip to the good parts? Is it too much like a version of my listed sources of inspiration from the fan-fics I have listed so far, with only a few small differences? I want my story to be original, interesting and build up a detailed new world like my favorite authors manage, but have references from the stories I have been inspired by to make my writing go faster.